Conventionally, MIDI is specified as the international standard for musical tone information. In an electronic musical instrument or the like which is designed to be capable of dealing With MIDI information, therefore, a musical tone is generated by driving a tone generator in that instrument based on the MIDI information supplied from outside as well as by driving a tone generator based on tone information generated in the instrument itself.
Such electronic musical instruments are not adapted to process MIDI information, which differs depending on their classes. Nor do they have excellent machine operability. An electronic musical instrument control apparatus with excellent operability is therefore demanded so that a player can produce desirable and abundant musical tones according to the player's feeling.
A conventional electronic musical instrument designed to process MIDI information has various shortcomings as follows.
(1) Conventionally, a master keyboard which can control multiple MIDI devices as well as play by itself has been developed and put into a practical use. The master keyboard has a function for simultaneously outputting a previously stored program change signal for about four channels in order to change a timbre. PA1 (2) The technique for transferring and processing a MIDI signal of an electronic musical instrument has the following shortcoming. PA1 (3) An electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a MIDI information dividing apparatus is known, which divides MIDI information input from an electronic musical instrument, etc. according to predetermined conditions, outputs the MIDI information, and controls multiple tone generators. PA1 (4) While an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as the MIDI information dividing apparatus described in (3) above is conventionally known, some apparatuses have specifications that request that a channel message directly affecting tone generation be output from the first output terminal and other messages from the second output terminal. PA1 (5) While an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as the MIDI information dividing apparatus described in (3) above is conventionally known, a player want want to select the output destination by the magnitude of a note number in order to generate a musical tone adequate for a tone generator, or to generate a musical tone using a tone generator the player desires. The player may desire to use a musical tone of a low note number as bass and activate the first tone generator, and to activate the second tone generator for a musical tone of a high note number as a melody. PA1 (6) While electronic musical instrument control apparatus as the MIDI information dividing apparatus described in (3) above is conventionally known, an electronic musical instrument generally has a limited number of musical tones generated at a time because of the structure of the instrument. A single electronic musical instrument therefore cannot generate more than a predetermined number of musical tones at the same time. PA1 (7) While electronic musical instrument control apparatus as the MIDI information dividing apparatus described in (3) above is conventionally known, a player may want to select the output destination according to the velocity of a message having a note number in order to generate a musical tone adequate for a tone generator, or to generate a musical tone using a tone generator of the player's preference. PA1 (8) A method of using volume information for volume change is known as a conventional method of changing a volume. PA1 (9) An electronic musical instrument control apparatus is conventionally known which has a device for displaying a negative fader value. This electronic musical instrument control apparatus generally has 16 (or 17) faders which are used for processing input MIDI information before outputting it. It is necessary for the electronic musical instrument control apparatus to express the individual fader values (normally 0 to 127) by one character (5.times.7) in order to display 16-channel fader values at a time on a 16-digit liquid crystal display device (hereafter referred to as "LCD"). To accomplish this, therefore, one may omit the first digit and express the fader values by 0 to 12 as shown in FIG. 50A or 50B, for example. PA1 (10) An apparatus which outputs MIDI volume information by a sliding volume (fader) is conventionally known. In this apparatus, mode change on the sender side or the operation on the receiver side might change the relationship between the actual volume and the position of the fader. PA1 (11) Conventionally, there are a MIDI Volume controller (mixer) and a master keyboard which can output MIDI volume information. PA1 (12) Conventionally, an apparatus, which assigns exclusive data to a sliding volume (fader) and outputs the exclusive data by moving the fader, employs a method of selecting the exclusive data from a fixed or predetermined repertory. PA1 (13) In general, to set parameters, such as timbre, an electronic musical instrument like a synthesizer has data input means such as one or more faders. Some electronic musical instruments comprise an exclusive remote controller. PA1 (1) It is a primary object to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus with excellent operability which can output program change signals and volume signals for 16 MIDI channels at the same time, and execute setup of many MIDI devices simultaneously. PA1 (2) It is a second object to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus with excellent operability which converts channels between the output side of MIDI information and the receiver side of the MIDI information (on the way of transferring a MIDI signal) to collectively associate the channels of the output side of the MIDI information with those of the receiver side of the MIDI information, simplifying environmental setting or the like. PA1 (3) It is a third object to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a MIDI information dividing apparatus which can permit an output terminal to be selected for every MIDI channel so that it can generate a musical tone from a tone generator of a player's preference or a musical tone proper for a tone generator. PA1 (4) It is a fourth object to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a MIDI information dividing apparatus which can allow a channel message directly affecting tone generation to be output from a first output terminal and other messages to be output from a second output terminal so as to cope with the specifications of many devices. PA1 (5) It is a fifth object to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a MIDI information dividing apparatus which can allow an output destination to be selected according to the magnitude of a note number so as to generate a musical tone from a tone generator of a player's preference or a musical tone proper for a tone generator. PA1 (6) It is a sixth object to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a MIDI information dividing apparatus which can permit an output destination to be selected according to whether a note number is an odd number or even number so as to artificially increase the number of simultaneously generated tones by driving different tone generators for individual output destinations, thus ensuring a variety of performances that a player desires. PA1 (7) It is a seventh object to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a MIDI information dividing apparatus which can permit an output destination to be selected according to the velocity of a message having a note number so as to generate a musical tone from a tone generator of a player's preference or a musical tone proper for a tone generator. PA1 (8) It is an eighth object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a velocity manipulating apparatus which can not only change the volume by adding a volume signal to an input MIDI signal, but also directly manipulate velocity data. PA1 (9) It is a ninth object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus having a display device which can improve the visibility of negative numerals by effectively displaying the negative numerals in limited space. PA1 (10) It is a tenth object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus with excellent operability which can correct mismatching of volume to the positions of faders for all the channels simultaneously and without moving faders. PA1 (11) It is an eleventh object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as a volume information storing apparatus with excellent operability, which has a master volume valid in other modes than a mode that permits volume alteration, i.e., in other modes, and allows for a volume operation even in the other modes. PA1 (12) It is a twelfth object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus as an exclusive editing apparatus which permits a user to freely prepare exclusive data. PA1 (13) It is a thirteenth object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument control apparatus with improved operability, which does not require selection of a parameter by means of a key switch or the like, and which can move a fader to which a parameter to be altered is assigned so as to change data. PA1 (1) To achieve the first object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising storage means in which patch information including volume information for at least 16 channels and program change information are stored; instruction means for instructing to set an external device in a predetermined status; and output means for, when an instruction is given from the instruction means, reading the patch information from the storage means and outputting the patch information to an external device of 16 channels. PA1 (2) To achieve the second object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising input means for inputting MIDI information; a table in which channel information before conversion and channel information after conversion are stored in association with each other; processing means for, when MIDI information is input through the input means, searching the table using channel information included in the MIDI information as channel information before conversion to extract channel information after conversion and replacing the channel information after conversion with the channel information included in the MIDI information; and output means for outputting MIDI information processed by the processing means. PA1 (3) To achieve the third object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising input means for inputting MIDI information; specifying means for specifying that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined channel by channel; setting means for setting a parameter indicating an output destination for each channel when it is specified by the specifying means that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined channel by channel; control means for, when MIDI information is input through the input means with determination of an output destination of MIDI information channel by channel being specified by the specifying means, referring to that parameter corresponding to channel information included in the MIDI information which is set by the setting means and determining the output destination of MIDI information based on the parameter; and a plurality of output means for outputting MIDI information whose output destination has been determined by the control means. PA1 (4) To achieve the fourth object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising input means for inputting MIDI information; specifying means for specifying that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined in accordance with the type of the MIDI information; control means for, when MIDI information is input through the input means with determination of an output destination of MIDI information in accordance with the type of the MIDI information being specified by the specifying means, determining an output destination in accordance with the type of the MIDI information; and a plurality of output means for outputting MIDI information whose output destination has been determined by the control means. PA1 (5) To achieve the fifth object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising input means for inputting MIDI information; specifying means for specifying that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined by the magnitude of a note number; setting means for setting a threshold value for discrimination of the magnitude of a note number and a parameter indicating an output destination for each channel in accordance with the threshold value when it is specified by the specifying means that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined by the magnitude of a note number; control means for, when MIDI information is input through the input means with determination of an output destination of MIDI information by the magnitude of a note number being specified by the specifying means, referring to those threshold values and parameters corresponding to channel information included in the MIDI information which are set by the setting means to thereby determine the output destination of MIDI information; and a plurality of output means for outputting MIDI information whose output destination has been determined by the control means. PA1 (6) To achieve the sixth object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising input means for inputting MIDI information; specifying means for specifying that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined in accordance with whether a note number is an odd number or an even number; setting means for setting a parameter indicating an output destination for each channel in accordance with whether a note number is an odd number or an even number when it is specified by the specifying means that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined in accordance with whether a note number is an odd number or an even number; control means for, when MIDI information is input through the input means in a case where it is specified by the specifying means that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined in accordance with whether a note number is an odd number or an even number, referring to that parameter corresponding to channel information included in the MIDI information which is set by the setting means to thereby determine the output destination of MIDI information; and a plurality of output means for outputting MIDI information whose output destination has been determined by-the control means. PA1 (7) To achieve the seventh object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising input means for inputting MIDI information; specifying means for specifying that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined by a velocity; setting means for setting a threshold value for discrimination of the degree of a velocity and a parameter indicating an output destination for each channel in accordance with the threshold value when it is specified by the specifying means that an output destination of MIDI information is to be determined by a velocity; control means for, when MIDI information is input through the input means with determination of an output destination of MIDI information by a velocity being specified by the specifying means, referring to those threshold values and parameters corresponding to channel information included in the MIDI information which are set by the setting means to thereby determine the output destination of MIDI information; and a plurality of output means for outputting MIDI information whose output destination has been determined by the control means. PA1 (8) To achieve the eighth object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising input means for inputting MIDI information; instruction means for instructing alteration of a velocity of MIDI information input through the input means; velocity imparting means for giving velocity information to be changed; control means for, when velocity alteration is instructed by the instruction means, altering a velocity of MIDI information input through the input means in accordance with the velocity information given by the velocity imparting means; and a plurality of output means for outputting MIDI information whose velocity has been changed by the control means. PA1 (9) To achieve the ninth object, according to the present invention, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus for subjecting input MIDI information to a predetermined processing before outputting the information, is characterized by comprising display means for displaying a positive number or a negative number, the negative number highlighted when displayed by the display means. PA1 (10) To achieve the tenth object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising instruction means for instructing outputting of predetermined control information; storage means for storing positional information of a plurality of manipulators; producing means for producing plural pieces of control information including the positional information of a plurality of manipulators stored in the storage means; and output means for outputting the plural pieces of control information produced by the producing means. PA1 (11) To achieve the eleventh object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a plurality of manipulators for designating volume information in a volume change mode and designating different information in other modes; storage means for storing the volume information designated by the plurality of first manipulators; a second manipulator for instructing relative alteration of all the pieces of volume information designated by the plurality of first manipulators; producing means for, when the second manipulator is manipulated, processing the volume information stored in the storage means in accordance with the amount of manipulation of the second manipulator irrespective of modes to produce new volume information; and output means for outputting the volume information produced by the producing means. PA1 (12) To achieve the twelfth object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising instruction means for instructing effecting of an exclusive edit mode; input means for inputting predetermined data; producing means for producing exclusive information in accordance with an input from the input means when effecting of the exclusive edit mode is instructed by the instruction means; and storage means for storing the exclusive information produced by the producing means. PA1 (13) To achieve the thirteenth object, an electronic musical instrument control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising storage means for storing exclusive information; a manipulator for inputting information; producing means for reading out the exclusive information stored in the storage means and altering the exclusive information by manipulation of the manipulator to produce new exclusive information; and outputting means for outputting the exclusive information produced by the producing means.
In the cases where one wants to control more channels, or output a volume signal at the same time, however, the same operation has to be repeated multiple times, thereby yielding lower operability.
In general, a sequencer includes a function for setting a MIDI output channel. Many synthesizers or the like are capable of setting a MIDI output channel and a MIDI input channel.
Conventionally, however, the MIDI signal sender side or MIDI signal receiver side simply acknowledges a MIDI channel and performs a channel switching process. In the case of controlling many MIDI devices by one apparatus, therefore, setup for an individual MIDI device is required, resulting in troublesome operation and low operability.
Available in the market place are, for example, a MIDI patch bay which can select the destination to output MIDI information for each MIDI connector (16 channels) by switching the connection, and a synthesizer which can switch a timbre by a tone range and the degree of a velocity in the same tone generator.
A player, however, may wish to select the destination to output the MIDI information for every MIDI channel in order to generate a musical tone proper for a tone generator or to produce a musical tone using a tone generator desired by the player.
With the above structure where the output destination is selected by the units of connectors or a timbre is switched in the same tone generator, however, the output destination cannot be changed (a different tone generator cannot be driven) by the units of MIDI channels.
Such a request cannot be satisfied with the above-described structure where the output destination is selected by the units of connectors or a timbre is changed in the same tone generator.
The desire to change the output destination by the magnitude of note number cannot be granted with the above-described structure where the output destination is selected by the units of connectors or a timbre is changed in the same tone generator.
On the contrary, an acoustic piano, for example, can simultaneously generate as many musical tones as the number of keys provided. There is a demand for an electronic musical instrument which, like the piano, can simultaneously generate as many more musical tones as possible to enable a variety of performances using more musical tones.
That demand cannot be fulfilled with the above-described structure where the output destination is selected by the unit of connectors or a timbre is changed in the same tone generator.
That desire to choose the output destination according to the velocity of a message having a note number however cannot be met with the above-described structure where the output destination is selected by the units of connectors or a timbre is changed in the same tone generator.
Generally, a musical instrument is adapted so that not only volume but also timbre are changed according to the strength of a key strike. The method of using volume information to change the volume can hardly vary the volume according to a change in the velocity of an input musical tone. In preparing automatic playing data, there is another demand to prepare the data which is given the same velocity.
The fader values however have to be negative in mode where a fader value is added to the velocity of input MIDI information before the information is output (for example, "-64 to 63"). If these fader values are to be represented as ""-6 to 6" by omitting the first digit in the same manner as the above case, "-" in "-6," for example should be shown by one row if "6" is expressed by three rows, as shown in FIG. 56. Accordingly, the visual difference between the positive number and the negative number becomes slight, deteriorating the visual recognition. This tendency becomes stronger particularly when other numbers are displayed on both sides of that number. Further, since numerals are arranged by 16 digits, it is hard to distinguish, for example, "12" from "-2" as shown in FIG. 57.
It is therefore useless to display all the fader values by rearranging the values into 16-digit characters.
In other words, if the volume of an associated apparatus is changed without notice, an apparatus which handles 16-channel volumes by 16 faders cannot match the position of the fader to the volume without moving the fader corresponding to the shifted channel.
Accordingly, all the faders have to be moved for complete matching. Since it cannot be judged at a glance whether mismatching has occurred, it may be uncertain which fader (channel) has been moved. Further, there are many cases where matching is desirably performed at a time if possible because moving a fader in the unmatched conditions suddenly changes the volume. Conventionally, however, that operation could not be done. Moreover, if one tries to match a fader to the actual volume, the fader moves, which gives rise to trouble when making the fader steady (not moving the fader) is desirable.
The MIDI volume information however can be output only in, for example, mixer mode which changes the volume, and the volume cannot be altered in other modes. When the volume needs to be altered in a predetermined mode, therefore, the mode should temporarily be changed to the one which enables volume changing, resulting in poor operability.
It is therefore difficult for a user to collect exclusive data about a desired apparatus or obtain exclusive data for a new apparatus.
Conventionally, however, a parameter to be altered is called by a mode switch or the like, and then data is changed by a fader, etc., yielding poor operability.
The present invention has been contrived to overcome the above-described shortcomings.